Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday postponed planned elections amid a dispute over voting in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem and divisions in his Fatah party. Abbas, 85, issued a presidential decree postponing the May 22 parliamentary and July 31 presidential elections, the official news agency WAFA said. The delay drew immediate criticism from opponents and from would-be voters – no Palestinian under 34 has taken part in national elections. He had hinted at the delay for weeks by claiming that Israel had not agreed to permit East Jerusalem Palestinians to vote in the city. Before the postponement State Department Spokesman Ned Price said: “The exercise of democratic elections is a matter for the Palestinian people and for the Palestinian leadership to determine.”

Source: Egypt Independent April 30, 2021 21:11 UTC